Maryland’s Attorney General Brian Frosh on Monday filed a notice that the state would seek an appeal to Montgomery County court decision that reversed the state’s 2020 Clean Water Act discharge permit that was issued by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE).
MDE in 2020 reissued its Clean Water Act discharge permit to control any potential water pollution into local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay as a result of chicken farms. A petition for judicial review contended MDE was required to include in the permit limits to control gaseous ammonia emissions from chicken houses that may deposit in local waterways.
A Montgomery County Circuit judge in March issued a ruling that reversed MDE’s issuance of the Clean Water Act discharge permit and remanded it to MDE to “mandate effluent limitations for ammonia and other water quality based effluent limitations.”
MDE’s press release noted that through the state’s more than 30-year history of issuing discharge permits, MDE “has been consistent in its interpretation of federal and state law, regulating air emissions under Clean Air Act permits and not Clean Water Act discharge permits.”
“Under the Montgomery County Circuit Court ruling,” the press release continued, “MDE could be required to issue discharge permits for a broad variety of activities that generate air emissions, such as vehicles, landfills and power plants, and could be required to modify existing discharge permits for facilities such as wastewater treatment plants.”
“We appreciate the Attorney General’s support in seeking to clarify the scope of our permit after the lower court’s decision,” Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles said of the appeal. “Maryland continues to be a national leader on environmental compliance and regulation. We are committed to advancing the science, stewardship and conservation practices that seek to reduce pollution from poultry houses. We are also committed to regulatory certainty in the wake of the unprecedented ruling in the lower court.”
